Mullet as an Enemy of the Oyster

Abstract

DURING the past summer large numbers of oysters carrying larvæ were examined in the Plymouth laboratory, and in order not to waste the larvæ, batches were thrown as food into an aquarium tank containing anemones, sea-cucumbers, small fishes, and other smaller marine animals. After throwing the larvæ into the tank, the animals being fed were watched, and it was found that a small school of small grey mullet (Mugil chelo) in the tank came rapidly towards the clouds of larvæ and greedily ate them up. These mullet soon became accustomed to being fed on larval oysters, and quickly appeared from remote portions of the tank when larvæ were thrown in.